Threaded pouring lip stopper combination for vacuum bottle



31, 1951 L. J. DARMSTADT ETA]. 2,969,887

THREADED POURING LIP STOPPER COMBINATION FOR VACUUM BOTTLE Filed April 8, 1959 FIG. I

FIG. 2

INVENTORS LOUIS J. DARMSTADT GEORGE W. FULLER BY WM, fiwa y ATTORNEYS United States Patent C THREADED POURING LIP STOPPER COMBINA- TION FOR VACUUM BOTTLE Louis J. Darmstadt, Norwich, and George W. Fuller, Hampton, Conn., assignors, by mesne assignments, to The American Thermos Products Company, Ann Arbor, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed Apr. 8, 1959, Ser. No. 804,960

2 Claims. (Cl. 215-13) This invention relates to closures for the open mouth or neck of containers for vacuum insulated bottles, or the like, and particularly to closures wherein the stopper is held in place by means of a screw thread.

Inasmuch as the mouth or neck portion of the conventional vacuum bottle, or container, has a smooth inner surface it does not lend itself to the reception of a closure member or stopper of the threaded type, and, conventionally, a combined stopper-receiving and pouring lip member is used, with which the stopper is threadedly connected. However, the avoidance of leakage between the stopper-receiving member and the mouth of the bottle has presented a problem.

An object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide a stopper and stopper-receiving-pouring lip member combination which is so constructed that a liquid-tight joint will be formed between the stopper-receiving member and the interior surface of the bottle neck.

Another object of the invention is to provide a stopper and stopper-receiving member combination which is so constructed and arranged that it will facilitate the clamping of the fragile container within its protective casing.

For a better understanding of the invention, including other advantageous features, attention is directed to the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description. In these drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of the upper portion of a vacuum insulated bottle embodying the closure of the present invention; and

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the stopper-receiving member shown by itself.

Referring now to these drawings the vacuum insulated container comprises a conventional double-walled flask or filler 1 which is mounted within and protected by the outer casing 2, usually of metal. The filler 1 has the usual open-ended filling neck or mouth 3, the inner wall of which is approximately cylindrical except that in accordance with the present invention it is provided with a small circular rib 4 projecting inwardly from its otherwise smooth surface, this rib being positioned at some distance inwardly from the top 5 of the bottle.

A stopper-receiving member 6 is positioned at the top of the filler 1, and, for this purpose is provided with a sleeve portion 7 and an enlarged upper portion 8 including a pouring lip. The stopper-receiving member 6 is made of a suitable resilient locally-distortable material such as polyethylene, natural or synthetic rubber compounds, polyvinyl co-polymers, or other suitable synthetic plastic material.

The sleeve portion 7 is internally threaded in a conventional manner, as indicated at 9, to receive the externally threaded stopper portion 16 of the closure member or stopper 11. The exterior surface of sleeve portion 7 is approximately cylindrical in shape and is dimensioned to fit snugly within the mouth portion 3 of the vacuum insulated filler 1.

Sleeve portion 7 extends substantially the full length of neck portion 3, and its outer surface has a shallow cylindrical groove 12 to receive the rib 4 on the interior of the neck 3. It terminates beyond this groove in an outwardly flared formation or lip which is tapered in thickness to a thin edge and forms a seal with the surface of neck 3 close to rib 4. When the sleeve portion 7 is inserted in neck 3 the sealing lip 13 snaps into position over the rib 4, and the combination of rib and groove and the sealing lip form a liquid-tight seal. The rib-engaging groove 12 also prevents outward displacement of the stopper-receiving member.

Slightly below rib 4 and the edge of lip 13 the cylindrical portion of the neck 3 terminates and blends into the curved portion 14 of the upper wall of the container 1. Thus the rib 4 is positioned inwardly from the outer end of mouth 3 and adjacent the inner end thereof.

The enlarged upper portion 8 of the stopper-receiving member has a conical pouring surface 15 which extends outwardly and upwardly from the inner surface of the upper end of sleeve portion 7, this surface 15 constituting the pouring lip surface. The enlarged upper portion of closure member 11 has a knurled rim 16 forming a hand-gripping portion by which the stopper may be inserted or removed.

Between this narrow cylindrical rim l6 and the upper end of the stopper portion 10, the outer or upper portion of the closure member has two adjoining frusto-conical surfaces 17 and 18. The former is relatively narrow and cooperates with the curved junction 19 of the pouring lip surface 15 and the interior of the sleeve 7 of the stopperreceiving member, whereas the outer frusto-conical surface 18 is relatively wider and advantageously contacts only the upper marginal area 20 of the pouring lip surface 15. When the closure member 11 is in position, the closure seal is provided at these respective ring areas 19 and 20.

The stopper-receiving member 6 has a skirt portion 21 which extends downwardly from the outer surface of its enlarged upper portion 8, this skirt terminating in an internal flange 22 and external flange 23 located opposite one another and below the top 5 of the filler 1. When the filler is inserted in casing 2 a conventional shoulder section 24 is secured in threaded engagement, as indicated at 25, with the upper end of the casing.

Shoulder section 24 has a flange portion 26 which clamps the upper surface of flange 23 and holds the internal flange 22 snugly against the outer wall of the flask or filler 1, and thereby causes the stopper-receiving member 6 to fold the filler firmly in position within casing 2. A conventional outer protective closure member 27, which may also function as a cup for dispensing the contents of the vacuum bottle, is screwed onto a threaded formation 28 provided on shoulder section 24. Inasmuch as the flange 23 is located below the top 5 of the flask 1, the height of closure member 27 is somewhat less than conventional and this reduces the over-all height of the vacuum bottle.

The invention has been described in connection with one specific form thereof and it will be understood that changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the various parts without departing from the teaching of the invention. Consequently, it is intended that the scope of the invention shall be determined by the appended claims.

We claim:

I. In a vacuum insulated bottle, the combination of case, a double-walled vacuum insulating filler within the case having an approximately cylindrical open mouth, a stopper member having an outer hand-gripping portion and an inner threaded cylindrical stopper portion, a circular rib on the surface of said mouth and disposed near C2 1a the inner end thereof, a resilient stoppenreceiving member having a cylindrical sleeve portion fitting within said mouth, and means on the casing for clamping said stopper-receiving member in position. at the upper end of said. mouth, said sleeve, portion being internally. threaded.

to receive. the stopper portion of said stoppermember, said; sleeve portion defining an annular groove, said groove having a surface configuration closely conforming to all portions of said rib, and said stopper-receiving member terminating below said groove and adjacent thereto in an outwardly flared lip tapering in thickness to athin edge forming a fluid seal against said mouth.

2. A vacuum, insulated bottle according tov claim 1 in which said stopper receiving-member has an upper pouring lip portion and a skirt extending downwardly therefrom inspaced. relation to said sleeve portion to form an annular recess therewith forreceiving the upper end of the filler, said pouring lip. portion comprising a curved junction with the interior of the cylindrical sleeve portion thereof and an upper radially outer marginal area defining the terminating edge of said lip portion, said stopper member being provided with separate frustoconical surfaces for contacting respectively said junction and outer marginal area when said stopper member is threaded into said cylindrical sleeve portion, the aforementioned contact, providing a dual sealbetween said stopper member and said stopper-receiving member. 

